Stitch picker tool



June 13, 1961 EARNHARDT 2,987,740

STITCH PICKER TOOL Filed May 20, 1959 United States Patent Office 2,987,740 Patented June 13, 1961 2,987,740 STITCH PICKER TOOL Homer Daniel Earnhardt, Badin, N.C. Filed May 20, 1959, Ser. No. 814,467 1 Claim. (Cl. 12-103) The present invention relates to a stitch picker tool and particularly to a tool for picking stitches out of the welt of a shoe.

The primary object of the invention is to provide a stitch picking tool which will remove the stitches from the welt of a shoe during a sole replacing repair job which can be operated effectively by hand.

Another object of the invention is to provide a tool of the class described above in which the tool can be operated by a simple twisting motion which both engages the stitches and flips them out with a single movement A still further object of the invention is to provide a stitch picker tool of the class described above which is inexpensive to manufacture, simple to use and which is completely effective in its operation.

Other objects and advantages will become apparent in the following specification when considered in light of the attached drawings, in which:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of the invention shown in operation, picking stitches on a shoe welt;

FIGURE 2 is a side elevation of the invention;

FIGURE 3 is an end elevation of the invention; and

FIGURE 4 is a grossly enlarged side elevation of the teeth portion on the blade.

Referring now to the drawings in detail wherein like reference characters indicate like parts throughout the several figures, the reference numer indicates generally a stitch picker tool constructed in accordance with the invention.

The stitch picker tool 10 comprises a handle 11 having a concave thumb rest depression 12 formed therein. The handle '11 has a ferrule 13 mounted on one end thereof.

A relatively flat blade 14 is mounted in the handle 11 and projects outwardly therefrom passing through the ferrule 13. The blade 14 has a downwardly and outwardly sloping upper edge 1'5 and a downwardly and outwardly sloping lower edge 16 substantially parallel thereto. The downwardly and outwardly sloping upper edge of the blade 14 terminates in a rounded end 17 which extends downwardly from the upper edge 15. A plurality of evenly spaced teeth 18 are formed in the blade 14 between the outer end of the lower edge 16 and the curved end 17. The teeth 18 have their points positioned in the arc of a convex curve and taper equally on each side of their axis from the sharp points thereof, these axes being radial to the are of the convex curve, as can be clearly seen in FIGURE 4, and at their juncture with each other have a rounded valley 19 formed therebetween. The teeth extend along the lower edge of the blade in a generally upwardly sloping arcuate line, as best shown in FIG. 2.

For normal stitch picking operation on the welts of conventionally constructed shoes, the blade is formed of tooled steel .04 inch thick having seven (7) teeth not sharply or keenly pointed. The teeth 18 are spaced exactly of an inch apart and have a rounded valley between the teeth to eliminate the possibilities of the thread clinging between the teeth. The teeth points lie in a curvature such that the middle tooth is A of an inch higher than the end tooth in either direction. The remaining teeth are graduated in between.

In the use and operation of the invention, the tool is used by holding in the hand, as illustrated in FIGURE 1, and by exerting pressure with the thumb engaged in the thumb rest depression 12. The stitches are flipped out by a twisting motion and are raised and eliminated by movement of the tool back and forth. By simple movement of the tool up and down and right to left, stitches are removed much easier and more completely than was previously possible.

Having thus described the preferred form of the invention, it should be understood that numerous structural modifications and adaptations may be resorted to without departing from the scope of the appended claim.

What is claimed is:

A stitch picker tool comprising a handle having a thumb rest depression on the upper side thereof, a blade secured to one end of said handle and extending outwardly therefrom, and a plurality of teeth integrally formed in said blade with said teeth having relatively sharp points positioned in the arc of a curve, the axis of said teeth being substantially radial to said curve, and the taper of each tooth on opposite sides of said axis being substantially equal, the "valleys between said teeth being rounded to eliminate thread clinging between the teeth, said teeth being positioned along the outer edge of said blade on the opposite side of said handle to said thumb rest depresfi'gn and extending along a generally upwardly sloping References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,451,288 Bonelli Apr. 10, 1923 1,723,843 Chapin Aug. 6, 1929 2,075,310 Sprague Mar. 30, 1937 2,274,188 Campbell Feb. 24, 1942 2,509,411 Applegate May 30, 1950 2,601,766 Riddell et al July 1, 1952 

